BS EN IEC 62684:2018

What is BS EN IEC 62684 - EPS interoperability specifications about? 

Incompatibility of chargers for mobile phones is a major environmental problem and an inconvenience for users across the EU. BS EN IEC 62684 covers all aspects of the charger, connector and plug, including safety, interoperability, and environmental factors. It is expected to be applied on other devices with similar charging requirements such as digital cameras, games consoles, and tablets. 

BS EN IEC 62684 specifies the interoperability of common external power supplies for use with data-enabled mobile telephones. BS EN IEC 62684 defines interoperability based on legacy USB technologies. 

BS EN IEC 62684 defines the common charging capability and specifies interface requirements for the external power supply including DC plug connector specification, AC input characteristic, AC input characteristic, Protection, external power supply detection, and reliability. 

Note 1: BS EN IEC 62684 does not cover charging interfaces that implement IEC 62680-1-3 (USB Type-C™1), IEC 62680-1-2 (USB PD) and IEC 63002. 

Note2: BS EN IEC 62684 does not cover Safety and EMC aspects. Safety is covered by IEC 60950-1 or IEC 62368-1 and EMC is covered by regional /national standards. 

Who is BS EN IEC 62684 - EPS interoperability specifications for? 

BS EN IEC 62684 on EPS interoperability specifications is useful for: 

• Mobile phone and mobile charger manufacturers 
• USB device manufacturers 
• Telecommunication companies 
• Software/hardware engineers 
• Quality control personnel 

Why should you use BS EN IEC 62684 - EPS interoperability specifications?  

The external power supply is the AC electric power adapter that converts household AC electricity voltages to the much lower DC voltages needed to charge a mobile phone's internal battery. BS EN IEC 62684 is designed to universalize mobile phone power chargers. 

BS EN IEC 62684 provides you with testing requirements, which ensures that common external power supplies perform correctly with any data-enabled mobile phone to which they may be connected.  

BS EN IEC 62684 compliance testing ensures that power adaptors for mobile phones comply with the IEC 62684 standard. To comply with IEC 62684, the device must meet USB-IF connector test requirements, USB Micro-B cables and connectors specification, all electrical specifications, required voltage rate/current/frequency, and EPS/Reliability requirements. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS EN IEC 62684:2018 supersedes BS EN 62684:2010, which is withdrawn. BS EN IEC 62684:2018 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 62684:2010. These include: 

• Clause 1 is modified to include updated references to IEC Universal Serial Bus interface Standards 
• Clause 2 is expanded to include references to IEC Universal Serial Bus interface standards 
• Subclause 4.1 is expanded to include requirements for non-USB Micro-B plug DC plug connectors 
• Subclause 4.4 is modified to remove obsolete requirements for common-mode noise and reference requirements of IEC Universal Serial Bus interface standards 
• Subclause 4.5 is modified to reference appropriate safety standards